Afternoon tea in DC?

Friend wants to celebrate a monumental birthday by going for fancy afternoon tea. What are your favorite places for such an event? We are thinking of Hillwood, Ritz or Four Seasons. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I think it would be very appropriate for a birthday ... this from the Web site, "The Tea Cellar's sophisticated tea offerings, some of which are at the level of flavor and complexity of fine wines, not only introduce guests to the highest quality of tea, but also to the significance of water temperature and steeping time each tea requires."

I actually don't recomment the Four Seasons...at least not the one in Georgetown. I went there for tea a couple years ago with friends and we didn't enjoy the atmosphere or the food. The finger sandwiches and pastries were dry and the atmosphere was like sitting in a hotel lobby.

My recommendations are The Mayflower on Connecticut Ave and The Hay Adams on 16th & H. I enjoyed the tea room at The Mayflower, very elegant and the food/tea was great. I haven't been to The Hay Adams but have heard great things about their high tea.

If you're looking for something different...instead of an English tea you could have Chinese tea at Ching Ching Cha on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown. This is a cute little Asian cafe and tea house...the decor is very feng shui! I enjoyed this spot as a change from the well-known English high tea.

I don't know how different the Ritz in DC is from the one in Pentagon City but I went to the one in Pentagon City recently. It was really nice, piano player, fire blazing. I had the high tea (I think it was almost $40) for finger sandwiches, bite sized desserts, tea. The finger sandwiches were forgettable but I really liked the desserts. The first cup of tea was wonderful but then subsequent cups were too strong. I don't know if that's how all tea is here in the US, but I've been to Ritz Carltons in Boston, SF and here and they give you a pot of tea seeping in tea leaves. It makes a great first cup but I'd love to remove the tea leavees then, instead of having them sit in the tea pot for a long time, making bitter tea. Anyway, service was great, as always. I'm always impressed with the Ritz.